The Best Unrestricted Budget Deck
In “Counting Tempo, Part III,” I printed a letter from reader Patrick Gaskill, who was seeking to break a Type I tournament with no restricted list. I recommended he go back to Extended-esque Trix (Dark Ritual + Necropotence and Donate + Illusions of Grandeur) for a solid mix of disruption and brokenness. Jacob Orlove, a nineteen-year old sophomore at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, however, updated my thoughts:
Hi Oscar,
In your column, you recommended that a player interested in building a degenerate, cheap, unrestricted deck turn to Necropotence. Well, he came to TheManaDrain for some tuning, and we gave him something better:
The”budget” list was as follows:
4x Dark Ritual
4x Mind’s Desire
4x Tendrils of Agony (4 because of consults)
4x Demonic Consultation
4x Yawgmoth’s Will
4x Demonic Tutor
4x Meditate
4x Sol Ring
4x Lion’s Eye Diamond
4x Lotus Petal
4x Mana Vault
4x Tolarian Academy
4x Gemstone Mine
4x Underground Sea
4x Open slots
The open slots would probably be either Cabal Therapy or Duress.
This is going to win turn 1 a lot more often than Necro will, and Storm is just stupid. 😉
Otherwise, that was a nice article.
-Jacob Orlove
Best Standstill ever
Kevin See, a current inmate of my old Xavier High School here in Manila, caught me with the build I’ve been tuning for the couple of months. Now, he used Fish against what he thought was my last published decklist, which led to a big surprise.
He had a Manta Riders, a Rootwater Thief, a Cloud of Faeries, and a Mishra’s Factory in play. Riders traded for my Gorilla Shaman, and Rootwater Thief removed Balance.
Oh, and I was down to four life.
14:32:18 – It is now turn 19.
14:32:25 – Rakso draws a card.
14:32:41 – Rakso plays Underground Sea.
14:32:41 – Island is tapped.
14:32:42 – Mox Jet is tapped.
14:32:43 – Rakso plays Demonic Tutor.
14:32:45 – DuAnE says:’k’
With Balance gone, what can I do? What else…
14:34:02 – Underground Sea is tapped.
14:34:03 – Underground Sea is tapped.
14:34:03 – Underground Sea is tapped.
14:34:05 – Rakso removes Yawgmoth’s Will from the game.
14:34:10 – Rakso moves Mox Sapphire from Rakso’s graveyard to tabletop.
14:34:13 – Rakso moves Black Lotus from Rakso’s graveyard to tabletop.
14:34:50 – Rakso says:’hmmmm’
14:34:56 – Volcanic Island is tapped.
14:34:59 – DuAnE buries Rootwater Thief.
14:35:00 – Rakso removes Red Elemental Blast from the game.
14:35:15 – Rakso removes Black Lotus from the game.
14:35:17 – Rakso says:’BBB’
14:35:20 – Rakso removes Chainer’s Edict from the game.
14:35:23 – DuAnE buries Cloud of Faeries.
14:35:27 – Mox Sapphire is tapped.
14:35:29 – Rakso moves a card from Rakso’s library to Rakso’s hand.
14:35:31 – Rakso removes Demonic Tutor from the game.
But, there’s still the matter of that Mishra’s Factory, right? I didn’t have anything good in the library except for a couple of removal spells… So what else could I be tutoring for? A Wasteland would only postpone the inevitable…
14:35:38 – It is now turn 20.
14:35:41 – DuAnE draws a card.
14:35:43 – Island is tapped.
14:35:43 – Island is tapped.
14:35:44 – DuAnE plays Standstill.
14:35:45 – DuAnE says:’k?’
14:35:46 – Rakso says:’k’
14:35:47 – Island is tapped.
14:35:48 – Rakso says:’sure’
14:35:48 – Mishra’s Factory is attacking.
14:35:51 – Rakso’s life is now 2. (-2)
Well, a Wasteland would make the game really funny at this point. I fetched a land, but it wasn’t Wasteland or Strip Mine.
14:35:53 – It is now turn 21.
14:36:01 – Rakso draws a card.
14:36:03 – Rakso plays Tundra.
Yes, I tutored for Tundra. Yes, I did nothing else but play it…
14:36:12 – It is now turn 22.
14:36:15 – DuAnE draws a card.
14:36:20 – Island is tapped.
14:36:21 – Mishra’s Factory is attacking.
14:36:44 – Underground Sea is tapped.
14:36:44 – Underground Sea is tapped.
14:36:45 – Underground Sea is tapped.
14:36:45 – Volcanic Island is tapped.
14:36:46 – Island is tapped.
14:36:46 – Tundra is tapped.
14:36:47 – Mox Jet is tapped.
14:36:47 – Mox Sapphire is tapped.
14:36:49 – Rakso says:’8 mana’
Ta-da!
14:36:51 – Rakso plays Decree of Justice.
14:36:55 – DuAnE says:’wow!!!’
14:37:17 – Rakso draws a card.
14:37:20 – Rakso plays Soldier.
14:37:21 – Rakso plays Soldier.
14:37:22 – Rakso plays Soldier.
14:37:23 – Rakso plays Soldier.
14:37:24 – Rakso plays Soldier.
14:37:34 – DuAnE buries Mishra’s Factory.
14:37:36 – Rakso removes Soldier from the game.
14:37:37 – Rakso removes Soldier from the game.
14:37:40 – Rakso says:’done?’
14:37:40 – Rakso says:’;)’
14:37:45 – Island is tapped.
14:37:45 – Island is tapped.
14:37:46 – DuAnE plays Lord of Atlantis.
14:37:48 – DuAnE says:’draw 3′
14:37:49 – Rakso says:’oooohhhh’
14:37:50 – DuAnE buries Standstill.
14:37:52 – Rakso drew 3 cards.
14:37:54 – It is now turn 23.
14:38:07 – Rakso draws a card.
14:38:14 – Rakso plays Wasteland.
14:38:15 – Mox Jet is tapped.
14:38:17 – Rakso plays Sol Ring.
14:38:25 – Rakso says:’16 life…’
14:38:47 – Soldier is attacking.
14:38:48 – Soldier is attacking.
14:38:49 – Soldier is attacking.
14:38:51 – Rakso removes Soldier from the game.
14:38:53 – DuAnE’s life is now 14. (-2)
Kevin must be bewildered at this point. If I had removal, the Standstill in has hand wasn’t going to help him any. But if I had removal, then why didn’t I kill the Lord before attacking?
14:38:57 – It is now turn 24.
14:38:59 – DuAnE draws a card.
14:39:01 – Island is tapped.
14:39:01 – Island is tapped.
14:39:02 – DuAnE plays Standstill.
14:39:03 – DuAnE says:’k?’
14:39:08 – Lord of Atlantis is attacking.
14:39:09 – Underground Sea is tapped.
14:39:10 – Underground Sea is tapped.
14:39:10 – Underground Sea is tapped.
14:39:11 – Volcanic Island is tapped.
14:39:11 – Island is tapped.
14:39:11 – Tundra is tapped.
14:39:12 – Wasteland is tapped.
14:39:13 – Mox Sapphire is tapped.
14:39:13 – Sol Ring is tapped.
14:39:14 – Rakso plays Decree of Justice.
14:39:17 – DuAnE says:’isa pa!?’
14:39:26 – Rakso plays Soldier.
14:39:27 – Rakso plays Soldier.
14:39:29 – Rakso plays Soldier.
14:39:30 – Rakso plays Soldier.
14:39:31 – Rakso plays Soldier.
14:39:32 – Rakso plays Soldier.
14:39:34 – Rakso plays Soldier.
14:39:35 – Rakso draws a card.
14:39:40 – Rakso removes Soldier from the game.
14:39:41 – Rakso removes Soldier from the game.
14:39:41 – DuAnE buries Lord of Atlantis.
Ta-hda!
14:39:58 – It is now turn 25.
14:40:00 – Rakso says:’14 life’
14:40:06 – DuAnE says:’two attacks’
14:40:12 – Rakso draws a card.
14:40:15 – Rakso plays Strip Mine.
14:40:21 – Soldier is attacking.
14:40:22 – Soldier is attacking.
14:40:22 – Soldier is attacking.
14:40:23 – Soldier is attacking.
14:40:24 – Soldier is attacking.
14:40:25 – Soldier is attacking.
14:40:25 – Soldier is attacking.
14:40:26 – DuAnE’s life is now 7. (-7)
And my stunned young friend concedes with two topdecked Forces of Will. But hey, he sure enjoyed that devastating loss! (He also said he’d never look at a Standstill in the same way again.)
Maximizing Mirrodin: Creatures
Since we have a spoiler complete with card scans, there’s no point in waiting to confirm the rumors. Mirrodin makes up for the dearth in interest felt two sets ago with Legions, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. Chrome Mox’s similarity to Mox Diamond feels like an appalling design move. Chalice of the Void has the obvious ability to shut out entire decks, and not just Sligh or Suicide Black which have most of their spells in just one rung of the mana curve (see “A Mana Curve can be a Line or a Blob” for the details). Isochron Scepter has a severe initial drawback that greatly limits its use, but it still has the potential for degeneracy, the most obvious being the unlikely Ancestral Recall imprint.
When Wizards said they’d give us Type I-worthy cards in this set, I was horrified instead of eager. Who headed the design for this set?
Anyway, we begin with creatures as usual. Again, set reviews aren’t supposed to extol the brokenness obvious in the new set; it’s a more comprehensive intellectual exercise, and even if you end up thumbing down everything for your Constructed preferences, the intellectual exercise is satisfying (and helps you when you trade at the Prerelease).
We go back to our two rules:
- Is the card more efficient than an established benchmark? (Or, do I get more bang from my buck?)
- Does the card do something no past card ever did, and if it does, is this new card playable?
And as discussed in past reviews, creatures usually go through Rule #1. The big exception from Scourge was landcycling, but as discussed later, they were too awkward in tempo terms in too many cases. The rest of the Scourge review was pretty accurate, except that Xantid Swarm is a bigger, non-Red Elemental Blastable threat with the sharp increase in the power of multicolored combo decks.
Platinum Angel
7
Artifact Creature – Angel
Flying. You can’t lose the game and your opponents can’t win the game.
4/4
Mirrodin rare
Platinum Angel was one of the earliest rumors, and its early hype dissipated in the face of the rest of the Mirrodin insanity. We’re not forgetting it so easily, of course.
Simply, I have to tip my hat to the guy who designed this, since it’s a mechanic with a depth quite disproportionate to the length of the card text. That said, however, depth and novelty don’t necessarily translate into power.
You might have drooled the first time you saw the rumored text. After all,”don’t lose” was the cornerstone of the original”The Deck” philosophy. That is, by focusing on simply not losing, you can wear your opponent down and later outpace him in resources, and overwhelm him.
That philosophy, however, isn’t absolute gospel in today’s far, far faster Type I. In many cases, the best way not to lose is to simply win first, especially when any single deck is hard-pressed to deal with all the many possible ways of losing.
That leads us to the Angel’s fundamental problem: It stops you from losing, but it doesn’t help you win.
With the seven-mana price tag, you’ll obviously consider Angel first for a slow control deck, in the traditional Morphling slot. Now, from a combat standpoint, Angel is a lot worse. It doesn’t untap to block, and it can’t pump its toughness.
You’ll argue, though, that it won’t need to block the moment it hits the table. That’s another problem, of course: It’ll hit the table very late, unless you catch a Smokestack, Juggernaut, or Force of Will with a Mana Drain. Sitting dead in hand, the one-card loss from Angel may well let the opponent win before the Angel in play stops him.
Angel is also a lot worse than Morphling in that it doesn’t protect itself, and you still lose the moment it bites the dust. Thus, even if you successfully bust your butt to drop Angel in the face of a weenie swarm, all he has to do is attack again, bring you below zero, then unload on the Angel.
Thus, if you want a Morphling substitute that reads”your opponents can’t win the game,” a Psychatog backed by Cunning Wish and Berserk is quicker and cleaner.
You might turn next to an artifact-based deck – something with Mishra’s Workshop, Goblin Welder, and/or Survival of the Fittest. German Tools ‘n’ Tubbies could Survival it away and then Weld it into play, and Vengeur Masque has it even easier with Volrath’s Shapeshifter.
Simply, however, these aggressive decks plan to not lose by winning fast, and devoting resources to not losing is a waste if what you need is a small push to win. Consider old-school players who put Zuran Orb even in aggro. Sure, it might buy you the time you need to win in some games – but in a lot of cases, if you’re saccing land, you were probably losing anyway.
To be sure, I asked fellow Paragon Shane Stoots, who entered the finals of the Vintage Championship at GenCon 2003 with a black-splashed Vengeur:”I wouldn’t run it since I already have one near uncastable creature in the deck (Phage the Untouchable), and this critter just doesn’t help me win faster.”
Thus, it’s a very cute Type I ability, and you can pull a few surprises with a number of cards like Necromancy. Just don’t mistake cuteness for brokenness. And, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind opening this as the finisher for your Prerelease deck, right?
Leonin Skyhunter
WW
Creature – Cat Knight
Flying.
Flavor text: The skyhunters were born when the first leonin gazed at the heavens and wished to hunt the birds overhead.
2/2
Mirrodin uncommon
Skyhunter Patrol
2WW
Creature – Cat Knight
Flying. First strike.
Flavor text: “They are the first to raise the alarm when the levelers attack, and the first to risk their lives to defend the pride.” – Raksha Golden Cub, leonin kha
2/3
Mirrodin common
Old-school white weenie players who held onto Thunder Spirit all the way back from Legends must be saddened by the increasing uselessness of that old gem. That said, Skyhunter Patrol is one lousy knockoff.
Why is Thunder Spirit unplayable, by the way? Because, while combat abilities are wonderful in Limited formats, any card text that doesn’t help deal damage is often dead weight in Type I, with only few notable exceptions such as Hypnotic Specter’s.
Leonin Skyhunter, however, is two power for two mana, and fits the minimum bill where the Patrol, the predecessor Spirit and Prophecy’s Diving Griffin fall short. Finally, white gets a two-mana flyer, but you have to answer the next question: Is flying worth it?
Your new pussycat has to compete in the extremely crowded white-weenie two-mana slot against staples White Knight and Order of the White Shield, and even a few guests like Meddling Mage. Specifically, it has to knock out Soltari Monk and Soltari Priest. Shadow, however, is stronger evasion, except in the very unlikely case that someone plays Moat (or Academy Rectors out Form of Dragon). The lack of built-in protection for the same price clips Skyhunter’s wings in the face of the Tempest staples.
Glissa Sunseeker
2GG
Creature – Elf Legend
First strike. Tap: Destroy target artifact if its converted mana cost is equal to the amount of mana in your mana pool.
Flavor text: “There’s a secret at the heart of this world, and I will unlock it.”
3/2
Mirrodin rare
Mishra’s Workshop and Goblin Welder-based decks are extremely powerful in today’s metagame, which is why permanents that can destroy multiple artifacts like Gorilla Shaman have a consequent increased billing. Glissa, however, has to justify a four-mana casting cost with double green in it, and an activation that might be hefty against Smokestack, Memory Jar, or Juggernaut. At first glance, thus, she falls short of the benchmark artifact killer: Viashino Heretic.
Shane Stoots, however, noted that Vengeur Masque decks don’t use red. With Survival out, Glissa’s activation can be timed with Survival’s. Further, Vengeur creator and fellow Paragon Carl Devos likes the idea of Quirion Ranger backing up the new Elf Legend.
Leonin Abunas
3W
Creature – Cat Cleric
Artifacts you control can’t be the targets of spells or abilities your opponents control.
Flavor text: Only leonin clerics who can survive the Razor Fields for one turning of the suns can stand in the Cave of Light.
2/5
Mirrodin rare
First of all, let me say that I entered”Abunas” into Dictionary.com, and came up empty. Maybe there’s a story behind this name, like others such as”Serendib” in Serendib Efreet.
Anyway, Leonin Abunas will surely catch the eye of any old-school player, myself included, because it’s a reprint of a memorable Arabian Nights creature, whose Oracle text reads:
3B
Creature – Guardian
As long as Guardian Beast is untapped, noncreature artifacts you control can’t be enchanted. As long as Guardian Beast is untapped, if an effect would destroy a noncreature artifact you control, that artifact remains in play instead. As long as Guardian Beast is untapped, if a player would gain control of a noncreature artifact you control, that artifact remains under your control instead.
2/4
Arabian Nights uncommon
The cats are easier on both the comprehension and the judging staff. Note, further, that Leonin Abunas is also a cheaper variation on Mercadian Masques’ Fountain Watch.
You have to explain to yourself, however, why Fountain Watch isn’t used, not even with the ascendance of Mishra’s Workshop-based archetypes. Simply, protecting your artifacts is wonderful – but the spell slot and the mana you put into this could be more devastating if they did something else, instead. This kind of ability just doesn’t add a lot to what you already have on the board compared to, simply, another threat. Further, Fountain Watch’s five mana and Leonin Abunas’s four are steep, and you’ll probably play the crucial artifacts before the guardian, giving your opponent the chance to kill them anyway.
If you need an even more concrete demonstration, just ask yourself why Dense Foliage isn’t standard in every creature deck out there.
Loxodon Peacekeeper
1W
Creature – Elephant Soldier
At the beginning of your upkeep, the player with the lowest life total gains control of Loxodon Peacekeeper. If two or more players are tied for lowest life total, you choose one of them, and that player gains control of Loxodon Peacekeeper.
4/4
Mirrodin rare
This is probably the most interesting incarnation yet of creatures like Mirage’s Emberwilde Djinn and Alliances’ Rogue Skycaptain. There is a world of difference between Loxodon Peacekeeper’s mechanic and Ghazban Ogre’s, however – and it’s the Ogre that has less of a problem in a fast, aggressive deck. Your scheme for getting around the drawback will be more cumbersome than the large discount on the mana cost, unlike something like black’s Flesh Reaver.
Parenthetically, I hope the art on the new racial types justifies the overuse of this double-race gimmick. Personally, I think it reached the high point with Mistform Ultimus, and it’s beginning to get as annoying as a hit song overplayed on the radio.
Bottle Gnomes
3
Artifact Creature – Gnome
Sacrifice Bottle Gnomes: You gain 3 life.
Flavor text: Reinforcements… or refreshments?
1/3
Mirrodin uncommon
Bottle Gnomes is back, though the old and more memorable flavor text isn’t. I enjoyed quite a few casual games with this one, from blocking Jackal Pups to recycling with Volrath’s Stronghold.
Mirrodin has a nice mini-revival of old artifact creatures. Masticore, of course, isn’t there, but Su-Chi’s weaker cousin Cathodion is. Triskelion is there, and Tetravus is reincarnated in Pentavus. They even have Yotian Soldier, something that gave me great amusement back in Mirage days with a now-forgotten card called Stasis.
Grid Monitor
4
Artifact Creature
You can’t play creature spells.
4/6
Mirrodin rare
Even Steel Golem lives! While the Man of Steel (not Superman, which was Morphling) was Pox’s star card for a good length of time, Grid Monitor and its drawback will probably make it a 9th or 10th front line artifact creature (after Juggernaut and Su-Chi) in Tools ‘n’ Tubbies, for the people who rate it better than Triskelion and Karn, Silver Golem.
Luminous Angel
4WWW
Creature – Angel
Flying. At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying into play.
4/4
Mirrodin rare
Plated Slagwurm
4GGG
Creature – Wurm
Plated Slagwurm can’t be target of opponent’s spells or abilities.
8/8
Mirrodin rare
Mirrodin brought back some old faces, but it retouched some old ones as well. Luminous Angel is a white twist on the Best Fattie Ever Printed, Verdant Force, though I think the seven power (and consequent three-turn kill on its own) is stronger than flying, and Reya Dawnbringer is a more interesting white fattie. Plated Slagwurm is the latest Autumn Willow, and it could outdo Multani, Maro-Sorcerer in some cases.
Neither is going to get hard cast except in the most laid-back environments, but that doesn’t rule out reanimation, casual RecSur (Recurring Nightmare / Survival of the Fittest), and casual Full English Breakfast (Volrath’s Shapeshifter / Survival of the Fittest).
Troll Ascetic
1GG
Creature – Troll Shaman
Troll Ascetic can’t be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.
1G: Regenerate Troll Ascetic.
3/2
Mirrodin rare
Tel-Jilad Exile
3G
Creature – Troll Warrior
1G: Regenerate Tel-Jilad Exile.
2/3
Mirrodin common
Strangely enough, Tel-Jilad Exile is a weaker near-copy of Alliances’ Gorilla Chieftain, and you wonder if it was too strong in the first place. It’s also weaker in every respect compared to Troll Ascetic.
Now, this sexed-up Horned Troll is actually a cross between two former Type II superstars: Urza’s Saga’s Albino Troll and Mirage’s Jolrael’s Centaur. Neither, however, is playable in Type I. What about Troll Ascetic then?
Regeneration, first of all, is a much weaker ability in Type I, where near-creatureless decks make up a good part of the metagame and some of the rest kill with large tramplers. Untargetability against Swords to Plowshares, Incinerate, and The Abyss make regeneration stronger, but not by much. Untargetability itself is more attractive, but it has to come with enough punch to make it worthwhile.
Matt D’Avanzo gave me quite a few beatings with his D’Avanzoo deck and its trademark Nimble Mongoose and Blurred Mongoose. Troll Ascetic still meets the minimum 1:1 mana-to-power ratio, but meeting the minimum is simply not good enough when you go beyond two-mana creatures. Looking at green weenies played outside straight Stompy, the two-mana slot featured Quirion Dryad and Werebear, both of which hit harder than Troll Ascetic when set up.
Simply, Troll Ascetic is a very good creature – but in Type I, green creatures have to be closer to broken. It would only be playable if some kind of classic Zoo deck becomes better, but something would have to happen to Mishra’s Workshop-based and Illusionary Mask-based aggro first. And even then, Roar of the Wurm would give it stiff competition for the early-mana slot.
If you’re feeling lucky, though, why not put this in Invincible Counter Troll, to give Sedge Troll some competition?
Viridian Shaman
2G
Creature – Elf
When Viridian Shaman comes into play, destroy target artifact.
2/2
Mirrodin uncommon
Elf Replica
3
Artifact Creature – Elf
1G, sacrifice Elf Replica: Destroy target enchantment.
2/2
Mirrodin common
I hope Viridian Shaman has provocative art, or it won’t get the nod over Uktabi Orangutan, the original Sex Monkey. Aesthetics aside, though, Ape is probably still the better creature type. Between Elvish Lyrist and Druid Lyrist, for example, Druid Lyrist is better to hedge against random anti-tribe effects like Engineered Plague. Anyway, since the chance of Engineered Plague catching Viridian Shaman with Quirion Ranger in a Survival-based deck is pretty slim, just go with the artifact killer with the better nickname.
As for the Replicas, however, I think their total cost to play and activate precludes their Type I use. Although you can use them in Welder tricks, being able to use the first activation quickly probably counts more.
Silver Myr
2
Artifact Creature – Myr
Tap: Add U to your mana pool.
Flavor text: The vedalken saw the myr as toys, unaware of the intelligence lurking behind their empty eyes.
1/1
Mirrodin common
Manakin lives!
Something like Nightscape Familiar will see play before these mana Myrs do, but budget players who use Sapphire Diamonds might consider these, since Manakin now makes colored mana. The Talismans are probably better, though, since summoning sickness is equivalent to Diamonds coming into play tapped, and so might the older budget mana artifacts Fellwar Stone and Mind Stone.
Myr Mindservant
1
Artifact Creature – Myr
2, Tap: Shuffle your library.
1/1
Mirrodin uncommon
Soldier of Fortune lives!
Steel Wall
1
Artifact Creature – Wall
Flavor text: We sculpt the land into what we need – homes, armament, fortresses of war. Our strength comes not only from knowing, but from commanding the terrain.” – Raksha Golden Cub, leonin kha
0/4
Mirrodin common
A 0/4 wall is nothing to get excited about, but walls do have their uses. Wall of Roots and Wall of Blossoms, for example, have their uses in more casual green-based decks. The only extremely cheap walls ever printed are Shield Sphere, Tinder Wall, and Cinder Wall. Shield Sphere formed an infinite damage combo with Enduring Renewal and Goblin Bombardment, while the other two could actually kill an attacker.
Wall of Steel could conceivably help out a slower budget deck – maybe a mono-blue deck without Powder Keg or Mishra’s Factory to stave off early damage.
Solemn Simulacrum
4
Artifact Creature
When Solemn Simulacrum comes into play, you may search your library for a basic land card and put that card into play tapped. If you do, shuffle your library. When Solemn Simulacrum is put into a graveyard from play, you may draw a card.
2/2
Mirrodin rare
Myr Retriever
2
Artifact Creature – Myr
When Myr Retriever is put into a graveyard from play, return another target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand.
1/1
Mirrodin rare
I’m honestly not sure what to do with the latest Invitational card, since Solemn Simulacrum does quite a few things including make a warm body while it’s at it, but it just doesn’t do anything strong enough. You might think of doing all these cute things in the middle of Goblin Welder tricks – but again, cuteness isn’t brokenness.
Same goes for Myr Retriever; you don’t need more tricks when your Welder is usually paired with Survival of the Fittest to bring in more toys.
That’s it for this week. Have fun at the Prerelease!
Oscar Tan (e-mail: Rakso at StarCityGames.com)
rakso on #BDChat on EFNet
Paragon of Vintage
University of the Philippines, College of Law
Forum Administrator, Star City Games
Featured Writer, Star City Games
Author of the Control Player’s Bible
Maintainer, Beyond Dominia (R.I.P.)
Proud member of the Casual Player’s Alliance